Kintsukuroi
by Mooglez
Summary: Snow couldn't turn Peeta against Katniss. How could he when Peeta's love for her is so withstanding. No, it was much more ingenious to turn Katniss into the 'victim' of the rebellion's schemes and unleash Peeta's protective fury onto the unsuspecting District Thirteen. Dark!Peeta.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! This little story has been driving me crazy for some time now, itching to get out of my head and onto paper, so I've decided to write my first fanfiction. As of the time I wrote this, I have not seen anyone else with this particular plot, so if anything strikes you as being similar to another story it is either: pure coincidence or they have taken from my work, likely the first though. This will be a Peeta x Katniss story, but I have a soft spot for Gale, so there will be **_**no**_** Gale bashing here. Peeta will be pretty dark in this for quite a bit of it too, not against Katniss though. To me, that's kind of hot, but if you think it might bother you this might not be the right story for you. Rated T for language, but subject to change.**

**Also, this story will **_**not **_**be following the Mockingjay book - there will be no Tigris etc., some events will not occur, some events may occur but they may be extremely different. This is a fanfiction after all, and there is a degree of creative liberties that entails. Plus, no-one wants to read something they've already read before, or know the direction the story will be taking.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or any of the Hunger Games characters. I will only write this once, but it holds true for any chapters that succeed this one.**

_**Kintsukuroi: **__"To repair with gold"; the art of repairing pottery with gold and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken._

* * *

It has been exactly eight hours since Katniss was given the news about district Twelve's bombing. She knew this because the shiny chrome clock hanging in the otherwise virtually empty hospital room now read a quarter past ten and the ticking of the blasted thing has been her focus for nearly the entire time.

Haymitch, before he left her alone to digest the information about her home, had informed Katniss that visitors weren't allowed to see her yet. He was her only visitor so far; she suspected Peeta and the remaining victors were held in other rooms under the same conditions.

Haymitch claimed that seeing her friends, family, even simple well-wishers would be too stressful for her body and in her currently frail condition that stress could be harmful. Katniss knew this was an almost absolute lie; she had no doubt her body was in a bad state - she could feel her muscles spasm with even the slightest of movement, her skin felt dry and taut, and despite the large amounts of painkillers flowing into her body via tubes she was still practically paralysed with acute bouts of pain over her body.

However, if Haymitch felt she was well enough to receive the news of her district's destruction, in great detail at that, then there would be no harm in seeing her family. In fact, Katniss couldn't think of something that would make her feel better than to see Prim and hold her close knowing that she was safe in this strange, new environment.

Katniss had been there for nearly every new event in Prim's life that she could think of. She walked her sister to and from school and her friend's houses just to make sure she reached them in one piece. She held Prim's hand the entire time during Prim's first - and only - visit to the Hob, after pleading for weeks to assist Katniss in selling Lady's dairy products there. She attended every school function with her, and attended to every scrape, cut and bruise the usually graceful girl got. It was obvious to anybody that Katniss was protective of her sister but they didn't understand that she had to be. She had to play the mother and the sister to her younger sibling after the death of her father. While the physical body of their mother remained breathing, Katniss couldn't shake the feeling that when the mines collapsed that day six years ago, it had left her and Prim as orphans.

Thinking in such way didn't bring up the guilt that usually came with it anymore, nor was there any resentment towards her mother. Her mother simply became a series of fond memories from her childhood, and the woman she is now is almost a stranger to Katniss; someone to be polite with, perhaps make small talk to, but nothing further. Prim was still most important person to Katniss, and she needed to be sure the younger girl was really okay here.

Katniss heard her mother, along with Prim, try to enter her small, white hospital room a few hours ago. They had been talked down to by whoever it was guarding the room once though and that was the last Katniss heard from them. Who Katniss does her rather frequently though is Gale. He's been pacing along the corridor in front of her door for quite a while, his normally silent tread loud and ungraceful, making him as easy to hear as a bear cub running over dry sticks. Katniss occasionally hears him yell at the guard by her door, and once heard them get into quite a physical brawl.

If she had the energy to do much apart from breathe and blink she might have laughed at the ruckus they had made, as at one point it sounded like they had both fallen to the floor in a heap. The sound of another voice joining the fight quickly put an end to the commotion and Katniss' imaginative entertainment, leaving her with just the sound of the clock, Gale's pacing and if it's quiet enough, the sound of the dripping from the I.V.

The door to her room opened almost an hour later as Gale rushed into the room first with Haymitch following his lead. They both looked as terrible as she felt: Gale had horrible bruising that discoloured his face and blood spotted his dishevelled clothing, while Haymitch - well, he usually looked terrible as drinking didn't seem to do him any favours - but he almost looked like a sober drunk, his blonde hair sticking up in the odd spot. He seemed to read her assessment of him because he let out a slight snort.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. They've hidden the alcohol from me. Or they don't have any. I'm not sure yet, but I'm sure they have a bundle of barley, or malt, or even yeast stocked up in some cupboard somewhere. If I can find that then I can go back to being the town - or underground facility, rather - drunk," Haymitch ended with a little laugh. Katniss knew he was trying to lighten the depressing mood and she was almost grateful for it.

She turned her head to assess Gale, who in turn was scanning over her and although she was completely covered from neck to toes in a thin white sheet she felt exposed to his all-seeing eyes. A good hunter can spot any inconsistencies with his setting and she doesn't even want to start thinking about what his mind is conjuring. Gale's sight had been resting on the tubes of liquid painkillers when his face darkened and his eyes grew angry.

"Are these really necessary?" he demanded, pointing at the plastic tubes while facing away from them to stare down Haymitch. "She didn't look this sick when the hovercraft picked her up from the arena and now look at her! She can barely move!" Gale's temper seemed to have shot up out of nowhere, each word shouted at Haymitch with increasing volume. "What the fuck is in this stuff, is this why that asshole outside wouldn't let me in? Because they needed their privacy to tamper with whatever this is?"

"Do I look like the goddamn nurse here, boy?" Haymitch replied with a surprising amount of calm in his voice, balancing out the anger Gale was displaying.

"You weren't her mentor, I was. I _am. _And I know for a damn fact she wasn't healthy in the arena, us mentors are given a large screen of their vitals after all. I betcha didn't know that one," he continued, walking to the side of the room and taking a seat on the one chair the room had. It was metal, just like the clock, and Katniss began to wonder how much of the district they were in was metal. She knew from all her history classes back in Twelve that this district was in charge of nuclear power and chemical weapons, but she had imagined a town similar to the Seam with a small building off to the side with a few select people trained in the art of nuclear energy.

From the small amount of information she was given about Thirteen and judging from the sterile, metallic look of the hospital room, she started to imagine the people of Thirteen as little metal robots, reproducing children in little metal test-tubes, pushing their little metal robot babies in little metal prams through long corridors of white. The chain of thought was so odd Katniss turned her head to examine the I.V. and wonder whether there was any truth in Gale's rant that there was something other than painkillers coursing through her veins. It also distracted her from whatever it was Haymitch was saying, but she was immediately brought back to the conversation as the rise in Haymitch's voice caught her attention.

"-fog gas, or acid gas, we're still not sure what it was exactly or everything that was in it. She was working off pure adrenaline and instinct to keep alive! It's no surprise to anyone with half a brain-cell that she's like this," Haymitch had gotten up off the chair at some point or Gale had pulled him off it because their faces are within inches of each other.

"So I'd love to see you try to run, walk, or even take a piss with stuff like-," he picked up a chart lying on the bedside next to Katniss' head and started to read with great difficulty, "Botulinum, digoxin, stri- strych-," Haymitch gave up and thrust the clipboard towards Gale's chest, "in your system."

Gale barely took a glance at what was written on the paper before he placed it back next to Katniss' bed and gently smoothed down her damp hair. Such a gentle action seemed out of character for her hunting partner, but it was the first gentle touch given for her comfort since she left Peeta in the arena.

Thinking about Peeta made Katniss' chest hurt with a pain she knew wasn't related to her physical injuries. She hadn't heard from him, or about him, during her stay here so far. All she hoped was that his room, and his body of course, was more comfortable than hers.

Haymitch and Gale's argument turned into harsh whispers which turned into an annoying buzzing in her ears rather than actual words. While she loved them, liked in Haymitch's case, dearly, she wanted them to be silent or give her answers to questions she wasn't able to ask. She wouldn't even know where to start with questions concerning Peeta, or Finnick, Beetee and Johanna, but there was one person she needed to know about. Pushing away thoughts of the other victors Katniss concentrated on getting enough saliva in her mouth to try to speak.

Her soft groan broke the buzzing in her ears caused by the other two room's visitors whispers. Neither of them seemed to notice. Katniss lifted her head a little, causing her neck muscles to shake with exertion against the soft touch of Gale's hand still against her hair, as she attempted to speak again.

"Prim."

This time Gale turned to face her, cutting himself off in the middle of what he was saying to Haymitch.

"Prim? She's safe," he knew exactly the questions she wanted to ask. "She's actually sleeping right now, or should be. I caught her trying to see you a little bit ago with your mother but they weren't allowed in either and it's, what-" he glanced towards the wall with the clock, "-a little past eleven now. They have a fairly strict curfew here. Fairly strict everything actually. I think they may even have times for when you can use their toilets, like we're trained pets that go on command," Gale snorted in derision. Haymitch shook his head, but it doesn't appear to be in disagreement to what Gale had said.

"Your cousin is right," he started while Gale shoots him possibly the dirtiest look Katniss has ever seen him give. "She's fine," Haymitch continued, "better here than there after all. She'll get all the - well not all - she'll get a lot of food, warm place to sleep, it's not the worst that could have happened for _her"_. Relieved at the news, Katniss lowered her strained neck back down onto her pillow and finally felt the need to sleep, knowing her sister was safe. Haymitch noticed her exhaustion.

"Get some sleep. The nurse is convinced you'll be much more you tomorrow morning. Their drugs," he pointed to the drip, "are much more advanced than ours. They know what they're doing in that regard at least."

There was still a question nagging at the back of Katniss' mind though, where is Peeta being kept and whether he was feeling like himself. She knew she should be focused on sleeping to repair her body, so she can face these new threats at her peak. Years of hunting and providing for her family lessened her empathy for others to the point she could walk past starving Seam children and, as long as she thought of Prim's fragile frame and the large Hawthorne family, she could force the guilt of having something to eat away.

Peeta wormed his way into her protective circle in little under a year. Katniss couldn't even pinpoint the time she cared about his well-being on almost the same level as the Hawthorne's. She knew it wasn't during the first Games, was it during the aftermath? Perhaps it was just loyalty to her Games partner who was willing to risk his life for her. Being immobile had made her overthink so she tried to push it from her mind. Lifting her neck up again she tried to speak again and Haymitch leaned forward in anticipation.

"When...Peeta," Katniss tried to ask when would Peeta be taken off the drugs she assumed he was on as he would be in the same condition she was. She hoped he wasn't worse than she was, she was sure she suffered the blast of the breaking force field more than the others. Haymitch immediately drew back and straightened his back stiffly.

"Katniss," he started softly, "Peeta... God, you have to understand the way things work here. You were considered more valuable to the rebellion. There wasn't enough time," he trailed off. Katniss understood the words he was using, but didn't understand what he was saying. In her drug-induced state it was unbelievably frustrating. She was valuable to the rebellion? What did that have to do with her question? The familiar feeling of fear started to pool in her stomach, forcing bile half-way up her throat. Was Peeta dead? Her chest ached; Gale was looking away from her, running his hands down his dirty, crumpled shirt.

"Dead?" She rasped. Haymitch shook his head in denial and Katniss felt relief wash over her replacing a large portion of the fear.

"No, he's not dead. They wouldn't bother picking him up if he was dead, they'd have nothing to use against you," Katniss knew what he was going to say before he said it and she felt the tears threatening to show themselves in the corner of her eyes. She refused to let them fall, she was better off angry than sad.

"The Capitol has him. Snow has Peeta. I'm so sorry, Katniss. You know I would've done anything to get him out of the arena; I would have done anything to get you out too. We had to pick. They picked."

They picked her over Peeta. They thought she was more valuable to them than Peeta and she thought they couldn't be more wrong. Katniss didn't even have the strength to be angry at Haymitch despite the throbbing in her hand in anticipation of the punch her mind was ordering her to give. He looked so devastated that he might have even taken it, a far cry from the Haymitch arguing with Gale only a minute ago.

"Out," she commanded instead, in the steadiest voice she could give. Haymitch and Gale left without question, not before Gale glared once more at the machine hooked into her and making sure her sheet was secure around her body. She hoped the nurse was right in the assumption her health would be better the following morning. Katniss knew she would need all her strength if she was going to punch Haymitch, and plan a way to break-out Peeta from Snow's grasp. In that order.

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_**Surprising cliffhanger, right? Peeta being captured - I'm so original, haha. But seriously, he should be back in the picture soon. I don't want to rush things because I want this to feel realistic, but I also don't want to have a lot of filler/padding for the pre-Peeta beginning, I'm sure we all want that sexy, blonde baker back ASAP. **_

_**I hope you enjoyed it so far, I won't force anyone to write a review, or beg, but as this is my first fanfiction I'd really love to hear from you guys. Until next time.**_


	2. Chapter 2

The nurse had been wrong. Despite the determination and willingness Katniss had to move her body, it had taken a little over two days for her body to recover enough to do the simplest of tasks; such as picking up the plastic cutlery they provided her to eat meals of grey glop. The meals themselves weren't so bad, Katniss had definitely eaten worse during her life in the Seam; it was just that they simply lacked the flavour of absolutely anything. If water had a grey, chewable form, she would assume that was what they were feeding her.

Prim had come in with the nurse assigned to Katniss' treatment during the early hours of the morning to reassure her sister about everything concerning the new district they were in. She talked to Katniss about the delicious food offered in the large cafeteria when Katniss asked about how well and often they were feeding her. Prim also seemed determined to not bring up any heavy subjects, such as the condition of the other victors, or any news about what's going on outside her clean, chemical-smelling room.

"They want you to get better, not worry about things you can't change," Prim had said after Katniss asked for information about Peeta's situation. Katniss knew her sister was restating phrases someone else had told her - and her sister seemed genuinely upset that she couldn't provide any answers so eventually Katniss stopped asking.

That had been half a day ago, and no-one else had come to check on her. She had heard Finnick outside at one point, joining Gale in yet again another argument with her door guard and was thoroughly relieved Finnick seemed to suffer no physical injuries, or lasting damage from the fog-gas.

Haymitch hasn't made an appearance since she dismissed him two days ago. Katniss was still mad at her mentor for reasons she couldn't quite fathom. Without a doubt he would have rescued Peeta from the arena if he had the choice, she knew this, but she needed an outlet for her anger over the situation and there wasn't anyone else around at all she could direct it to. No-one she could get her weak hands on at least.

Propped up against the pillows behind her Katniss mulled over all the information she had. Peeta was gone, except for Finnick she doesn't know what's happened to the other victors, her family is safe, and her district is gone. She feels solely responsible for its destruction, feels it so heavily she could almost picture the arrow she shot out of the arena's force-field hitting a huge, red button labelled "Bomb District 12".

As hard as she tried to keep her thoughts calm, the silence of the room always forced the images of the arena back into her mind. The feeling of her racing heart pumping adrenaline into her system, trying to escape the onslaught of beasts and tricks the gamemakers threw at her and her allies. It was a feeling that she would never forget, something that would haunt her until her (likely soon) death.

Before she can sink further into thoughts of the arena and death the door opened, and her personal nurse slid in pushing a metal cart with plastic cups and syringes neatly lined up upon it.

"Evening, dear" the elderly nurse pipped with a bright smile. "Sorry I couldn't be here a little earlier, but you know a nurse's work is never done."

Katniss was grateful to see the friendly face of the district Thirteen nurse. She saw the gleaming nametag attached to the front of the nurse's uniform but didn't bother to read what it was; becoming familiar with the people of Thirteen wasn't something she was interested in doing. While she was told the people of Thirteen have been nothing but friendly and hospitable, Katniss couldn't help but feel a little resentment for the thriving district citizens who have never had to feel the fear of a reaping, the fear of losing a family member to starvation, the guilt of watching others die from the malnutrition she fought so hard to ward off.

"Now," the nurse continued, "I was told to increase your dosage of Propofol to help the transition off the morphine, but that seemed a little excessive to me. The sedatives should really be lowered considering the amount of time your body has been comatose," the nurse started to uncap the tips off the syringes as she gathered the tubes hanging near the side of Katniss's head.

"Comatose?" Katniss questioned, watching the nurse. Counting backwards in her head, Katniss concludes she has been in the hospital room for a little over three days, maybe four, but she had been conscious for most of that time.

"Yes, dear. After a body remains unconscious for over three days we consider that person to be in a coma," she furrowed her brow at the younger girl. "They never told you?"

"No, they don't seem to want to tell me anything about what's happening outside this damn room!" Katniss exploded, her voice strong but a little raspy from dehydration. The nurse seemed to pick up on her condition as she moved to the bathroom hidden in the corner with a plastic cup and Katniss heard the faucet being turned on.

"So it's been almost a week since the arena?" The nurse came back into view holding the cup of water shakily. She handed it over to Katniss who took a few sips, still looking at the nurse expectantly.

"It's been almost a month since you were picked up," the nurse replied, looking behind her at the clock hanging from the opposite wall. Katniss choked a little on the water she had been in the middle of swallowing.

_A month! _A month of wasted time, a month of Peeta being in the Capitol, a month of Prim fending for herself - Katniss knew she couldn't rely on her mother to look after Prim. At least Gale was there for her and she had never felt such a debt to her hunting partner before now. How could she have been out for almost a month, well three weeks?

From the argument Gale and Haymitch had two days ago Katniss believed she was only out for several hours, she almost didn't believe the nurse but there was no reason she would lie to her.

Why didn't Haymitch tell her about how long she was out for? That bastard, he thought what she really needed to know before anything was her home's bombing? That seemed so pointless, she couldn't help anyone in this condition, and all that information has done is add to her stress and guilt. Now with the news she has been out of it for nearly a month Katniss felt herself become angry. The nurse hadn't noticed.

"I'm surprised they didn't tell you, I'm not sure if I was supposed to say but it's not like that's something you'd never learn about," looking away from the clock to Katniss, the nurse went to grab the tubes again but Katniss shot her hand out to weakly encase her wrist before she can.

"No drugs."

She's already felt she's spent too much time immobile and useless. If she was to get better she could finally get out of here and start attending the strategy meetings she knew had to be going on. The nurse glanced back up at the clock and shook her head.

"I'm really sorry miss, but I don't really have permission to go against orders," she moved her wrist out of Katniss' reach and started to inject the sedative into the drip. "It's really for your own good, it will help, you must be in so much pain."

But Katniss wasn't in any pain physically at the moment, she felt fine. A little weak perhaps but she wasn't about to gain her muscle and strength back by being sedated every day. The nurse looked her over in concern.

"I'm fine," Katniss relaxed back onto her pillow and closed her eyes in the hope that the nurse would simply leave. She could come up with a plan afterwards, right now she needed privacy. "Actually, I'm pretty sleepy now, so..." she trailed off. The nurse gathered her metal cart and supplies as quickly as her aged body would let her, and she made for the door.

"Of course. I'll be back to check up on you before nightfall," and with that she left. It was a wonder she even bought that line, thought Katniss, as the time read almost four o'clock. Still, it bought her at least two hours to get everything she needed to do in order. Considering they were in an underground facility as Haymitch called it, they probably wouldn't even know when nightfall was, so it was a safe bet the nurse would either make her way back to Katniss' room in two or three hours. Four at the most.

Gathering the tiny plastic line attached to her inner elbow Katniss slowly pulled out the needle, still wet with whatever fluids it was the nurse mentioned. Just looking at it made Katniss feel incredibly queasy knowing it was in her bloodstream. She much preferred herbs, roots, and the occasional gouging of meat to cure illnesses; syringes, pills and other non-natural substances were just a more invasive way of getting the job done.

Trying to not throw up at the sight of the pinpoint speck of blood dotting her arm from where the needle had been, Katniss rested against her pillow, easing her dizziness caused by the removal of the tube. She grabbed at the crook of her arm and shifted to lean on her side, curled into the fetal position. There were two clips attached to the tops of her fingertips that were easily removed with a yank.

Shifting her legs over the edge of the bed, Katniss fumbled to place her feet steadily on the tiled floor and stand. The thin bed sheet fell in a pool around her feet as she grabbed the I.V. stand next to her bed for support. She was now dressed in just a shift that reached her knees, but at least it covered her completely. It wouldn't do to be walking around naked.

Walking to the door proved difficult. For someone with usually great finesse it was frustrating to falter with such a simple task and Katniss couldn't help but imagine a deer trying to cross a lake of ice.

It didn't help that there was an unknown amount of drugs slowing her down in her system. Katniss slowly, and somewhat clumsily, made her way to the door of her hospital room. She rested against the metal frame and tried to hear anything happening outside. If there were no guards she assumed Gale or Prim might have come in to see her, and if there were guards they'd probably force her back into bed. Without her full strength and speed Katniss knew she didn't have much chance against what she assumed were muscled brutes, but she couldn't just stay in this room and wait around while there were things to be done.

She had to take the risk: resting her hand on the long, vertical handle she pulled slightly. The door was heavy but it cracked open a few centimetres, enough to let in the light of the hallway outside. A loud siren went off almost immediately and it startled Katniss so heavily she released the door handle and jumped backwards, the fast movement leaving her a little disoriented. A pair of voices could be heard through the door and Katniss leaned her head against the frame to listen in.

"C'mon Hawthorne, grub time," the disembodied voice remarked to who Katniss assumed was Gale. It was heart-warming to know her friend was still looking out for her. Two sets of footprints started to echo away from Katniss' position and there seemed to be nothing outside her door now.

With a sigh of relief Katniss started to turn the handle again and pushed it open far enough to fit her head out. At least she knew the siren wasn't because of her escape attempt, but rather a signal for dinner perhaps. Still, with the amount of effort that seemed to go into keeping her visitor-less and ignorant she had expected some sort of trap outside. There was nothing.

A long, narrow white corridor stretched in both directions, lined with other doors Katniss presumed to be other hospital rooms. Wasting no time Katniss pushed the rest of the door open and slid through, letting it close behind her without concern. The footsteps of Gale and the guard had gone left, so she decided to head in the opposite direction. The less people she came into contact with the better at this point.

It had taken an embarrassing amount of time to reach the end of the hallway; she would need to spend every spare minute she had on building her leg muscles back but it wasn't something to focus on now. Now she needed to find out what's going on. There had to be a room containing information - the mayor's house had piles of secrets lying around, and this place had to be at least twenty times that size.

Set firm in her mission to gather intel she took a right on whim and opened the first door she saw. It was a supply closet full of mops and brooms. The second door she opened was the same, and the third was simply full of unused clocks. Not bothering to open any more Katniss made her way forward to search for a new section to explore.

The walls turned from a white to a grey and the corridors became less narrow - it assured Katniss she was on the right path to_ something._ She was still not entirely sure what she was hoping to find, but any amount of time kept away from the drugs in her room can only be good. If she's really lucky she might even run into the person giving the orders to sedate her, just so she can give him a piece of her mind, but she's encountered no-one yet. They're probably all on the same feeding schedule Katniss thinks, as she remembered the comment Gale made about being pets.

Feeling exhausted from all the walking, though it had only been twenty minutes at the most, she took a seat on the bottom of a flight of stairs and closed her eyes. The stairs were rough and uncomfortable, made from harsh concrete but Katniss has never needed a nap more than she needed one now in her life.

Relaxing further into the staircase she let her mind wonder. Being idle never brought about good thoughts but it wasn't something she could help at the moment. She wondered if there were any survivors being held here too. They would have to be put to good use she supposed, a district wouldn't just take in refugees without having any use for them.

She thought about her sister and her mother. Her mother couldn't get away with lying in a bed all day getting overtaken by depression in a place like this. Hopefully both of them could help with minor wounds of the citizens or baby deliveries - a healer is what Prim excels at and is something she truly enjoys.

Katniss didn't know what she enjoyed anymore. Archery was something she truly enjoyed as a child, when her father died though her bow became a tool of survival. It brought death, but also kept life, it wasn't something she could honestly say she enjoyed for enjoyment sake. It wasn't like Peeta with his bread and cakes. He baked for his survival in a way as well, though Katniss thought it was more comfort than survival, but he could still thoroughly enjoy baking when all the work was over.

Her thoughts had gone back to Peeta. She tried to not think about him too often because her mind always conjured up horrible images of him being tortured by Snow. All the images involving an amount of blood and bone that Katniss quickly became uncomfortable with and the thoughts were always accompanied with Peeta's painful screams.

Standing up off the stairs to start her search for information again Katniss tried to shake her thoughts of Peeta's inevitable torture. But she can't. She can hear his yells so clearly they started to echo in her mind. She even tried clasping her palms against her ears to drown out the sound and it worked, there is mostly silence.

Unclasping her ears led her to hear Peeta's yelling again and with a gasp she turned to face the staircase. The top of it was closed off with a chain and sign that read "Authorized Personnel Only" but she could hear him, she could hear Peeta yelling up there! She wasn't imagining it at all! Had he been rescued while she was asleep and no-body bothered to inform her?

She took her first step up the twenty step staircase before a shout drew her attention behind her.

"Hey you, miss!" a man in a pressed black and gold uniform was jogging down the corridor towards her. Katniss took another step, and then two up the stairs. In her slowed state the uniformed man easily caught up to her and encased her wrist.

"Citizens were not permitted to leave the dining hall yet, and are definitely not allowed up here," he stopped to properly examine her attire before his eyes widened slightly and his grip on her tightened. He must have recognised her.

"Miss Everdeen, you should not be here," he started to tug on her wrist and Katniss pulled away. Peeta was up there, and now that she concentrated on it she could hear it was definitely him. There was no way this trained canary was going to stop her.

"Peeta is up there," Katniss tried to reason, flexing her other hand in anticipation of things getting violent.

"Your husband is not in this district yet," he countered. She knew he didn't really believe Peeta to be her husband, otherwise he could be calling her Mrs. Mellark, he was simply trying to placate her. Well it wasn't going to work.

Surprising both the guard and herself Katniss swung her free hand around in a tight fist, catching him hard in the nose. The shock of the impact left him reeling as he tripped down the two stairs onto his side. Katniss wasted no time on him as she darted up the rest of the staircase as fast as her body let her and slipped under the chain with the sign. She didn't feel guilty for punching him, Katniss knew he wasn't going to let her up the stairs and would have probably dragged her back to the hospital wing.

Nothing else right now mattered, she had to find Peeta. He was still yelling and the closer she got to the sound the more distinct it became. His yells didn't seem to be from pain, just anger, and she could make out her name frequently among it. He was yelling out for her and they weren't going to let her know about it.

She could hear the guard racing up the flight of stairs somewhere behind her, but she was too close to give up now though! Now at an outright run Katniss sprinted the length of the passage she was in before stopping in front of the door where his voice was strongest. With a shaky hand on the doorknob she could hear him behind it.

"-her to me this goddamn second or you get nothing!"

She had already wasted too much time already, flinging the thankfully unlocked door open Katniss barged into the room that was occupied with five unfamiliar faces. The door shut itself behind her but Katniss took no notice of it or the strangers, she was too enamoured with the projection in front of her.

There he was...kind of. On a large, fuzzy screen, with static distorting the image was the face of her blonde ally. He seemed angry, no, raging. Katniss had never seen him so angry and full of fire before but she was never so happy to see it. He was alive, and not just that - he looked to be almost thriving. She had expected perhaps a gaunt, starved man weak from the cruel things Snow would undoubtedly put him through, but it looks like he might have _gained _weight.

He was alive. He was... okay. Tears started to well in the corners of her eyes as she took in his image on the screen. He too had noticed her arrival and his face immediately softened as he takes in her appearance. For a split second all the anger he seemed to be filled with evaporated, leaving the kind boy she knew him to be.

"Katniss," he breathed softly.

Katniss knew he wasn't really in the room; still, she couldn't help but lift her hand and extend it towards the screen, hoping to feel any part of him. She opened her mouth to say his name back.

The door behind her suddenly burst open and she felt her body propelled forward in a tackle towards the ground. There were surprised shouts within the room of strangers, but his furious yell of her name was the loudest and most prominent. It was the last thing she heard before her head hit the hard ground and stars burst in a bright white behind her eyes, leaving the room in black.

_Peeta..._

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**I write for my own amusement, but thank you for reviewing, favourite-ing, following, or even just reading to here. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Rated T for language.**

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Katniss awoke to a dull throbbing in the back of her head and the feeling of hands under her armpits. She could hear Peeta's livid voice somewhere in the background, which simultaneously calmed her despite the tone and forcds her mind out of unconsciousness in response. The hands under her arms were slowly dragging her backwards, she noticed.

Opening her eyes gradually against the harsh, artificial light she realised she was still in the room of strangers. Peeta was still on the screen too, though his face was now a deep shade of red, looking angrier than he had before.

"Get your fucking hands _off _her!" Peeta was pacing on the monitor; he seemed to be alone in a dark room.

Why would Snow leave him alone like that to communicate with District Thirteen? Katniss didn't have enough energy to reason it out, but even if she did she already knew there were no explanations that would fit. Not unless somehow Peeta had managed to escape his captors, find a room of equipment linked to District Thirteen and figure out how to work it before his captors came back.

"Get them off!"

Katniss felt the hands leave her body and her back dropped to the floor with an ungraceful thump. She sat up, gathering her bearings and looked behind her to see the black uniformed man back away.

"Katniss... Katniss, look at me," Peeta pleaded so forlornly that Katniss automatically turned back to the screen. He looked lost, helpless even, like he wasn't sure how to proceed with her. He was still looking out for her. She just wanted to be there with him so she could return the favour for once but there was nothing they could do, separated by the vast distance between them.

"You have to listen to me carefully," he started, keeping his eyes locked to hers. "I'll get back to you as soon as I can figure a way out of here, but until then you'll be by yourself for a while. I mean it, by _yourself_. You can _not _trust any of them there, Katniss."

There was a splutter of indignation throughout the room. Peeta paid it no mind as he continued, never breaking Katniss' eye contact.

"Not Haymitch, not Gale but especially not Coin."

"That is enough!" Came an order from a strong female voice. Katniss looked around in its direction and found the owner. She was a stern looking woman of a respectable age sitting at the head of a table, with chopped hair and a suit Katniss usually only saw men wear during their marriage ceremonies. All in all, she looked like a leader.

The woman stood up to make her way toward Katniss. The other four strangers looked on from their seats, hidden away behind the rectangular oak desk.

"Miss Everdeen, I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting," she said, extending her hand in Katniss' direction. "My name is Alma Coin. I am the residing president of District Thirteen."

Katniss looked upon the woman wearily as she shook the offered hand as firmly as she could. Peeta growled _- growled - _behind her at the contact. If Peeta didn't trust the woman to such an extent Katniss would at least stay on her guard. Turning her back abruptly, and rather rudely, on President Coin and the others Katniss looked to the only person she cared about in the room.

"Peeta," she started as Peeta's mumbling growls quietened. "Where are you? What are they doing to you?" The questions seemed so basic and immature, even to her ears, but Katniss couldn't think of any that were more important right now.

"I don't know the location exactly," Peeta replied, looking at her sadly. "But, I know where Thirteen is. Snow knows. They're using those cameras you-" he motioned to Coin, turning to talk to her, "- use to spy on the citizens to spy on _you_."

The other occupants stood on their feet in outrage, gesturing wildly. It wasn't lost on Katniss that Peeta had avoided her second question, and she was shocked the people in the room wasted time arguing rather than planning Peeta's rescue. Perhaps it was a diversion tactic.

"How dare you accuse Alma -" one of them started before Peeta's voice boomed over the top, drowning his challenge out.

"How dare _I_?" Peeta shouted, signalling to himself. "How dare _you_! Now, sit down!" Peeta roared. The man is shocked into submission before he started to decline into his seat. Even Katniss felt intimidated by Peeta's outraged display and subconsciously took a step backwards into safer territory. Without knowing it, she's retreated into hunter mode and the hunter has encountered an animal she wasn't equipped to handle.

Peeta noticed her retreat and shook his head mournfully. "No, Katniss..."

Coin, without saying a word, held her hand up straight in the air causing the man who was declining into his seat to straighten back up instantly. She looked calm on the outside but Katniss could see the rage in the tension of her shoulders, her posture and the subtle flexing of her jaw.

"Now, Mr. Mellark, we have been very reasonable regarding your-" Coin started before she is cut off by Peeta, who released a mocking laugh.

"Oh, I see," he said snidely. Katniss knew she shouldn't be surprised at his tone, but it was so unlike the Baker's son that she thought she knew. Maybe they weren't destroying his body in the Capitol, maybe instead they were destroying who he was and Katniss didn't know which one was worse.

"You never told them about the tiny cameras in all your clocks?"

Coin took two large steps away from Katniss to reach the table and took a hold of a small, boxy device.

"Or did you just not tell the people?" Peeta continued. "Snow knows. It's how he's let me see her. Katniss, just because they're enemies of Snow it doesn't mean they're good people."

With a flick of her wrist Coin left Peeta without his voice; though he hadn't seemed to notice yet, he was still mouthing off in Coin's general direction.

"He wasn't going to tell us anything useful anyway. For one, he's too far gone, and secondly Snow wouldn't just leave him alone to give us useful information without keeping an eye on him," Coin stated, lowering the device in her hand. This is what Katniss was looking for though when she left her hospital room, she's found Peeta _and _the man - well, woman - in charge.

"We need to get him back. What are the rescue plans?" Katniss fired to Coin. How could the woman be so calm about it while Peeta was being held in the Capitol? Katniss knew keeping a level-head was a good leadership skill and it was something she valued in herself, but this deserved a little more emotion.

"It's already been decided. We will not be rescuing Mr. Mellark," Coin answered in a dead-panned tone.

Suddenly Katniss couldn't catch her breath. With her mouth agape she turned to survey Peeta on the screen. At some point he must have noticed his voice was no longer being heard, so when Katniss made eye contact with him all he can do was shake his head while mouthing her name. Did he even hear what Coin has decided?

"I don't understand," Katniss said softly, her eyes not leaving Peeta's.

"Mr. Mellark has been branded a traitor. Don't look so aghast, Miss Everdeen, he was considered to be one long before today. We were trying to persuade him onto the district's side, the side of the people who want to be free from the Capitol's hold, before you burst in. We do not negotiate with Snow's puppets," Coin finished.

Peeta had gone back to wordless shouting at Coin while wringing his hands brutally and Katniss thinks he might be imagining the president's neck between them.

Coin seemed to realise just how harsh she may be coming across, so her tone softened to one that Katniss might even call motherly. "I'm sorry, Katniss. I really am."

She wrapped a thin arm around Katniss' thinner shoulders and tried to steer her towards the still busted-open door.

"Now, you must be starving, you feel so thin. If you're fast enough, you might be able to catch your family at dinner."

Katniss couldn't believe the nerve of the woman who called herself president. The order for her hospital captivity must have come from Coin, also for the order to not allow her to see any visitors while she was in hospital and she was probably the one that kept Katniss sedated, but now she was insisting Katniss go eat regular food with everybody just to get her out of the room. Out and away from Peeta.

"Alma," a voice said from across the room. It was the man who Peeta told to sit down, still standing at the desk. "Perhaps we're being too hasty. We did want information from the boy, and he's given us more in the few minutes she's been here than the week she hasn't," he said, gesturing to Katniss.

There was a pregnant pause in the room as the man started to sweat profusely under Coin's piercing gaze.

"He's given us nothing useful. We were fools to think Snow would just allow Peeta to talk freely, we don't even know if what he's saying is true. Being a liar isn't too far of a leap from being a traitor," Coin said, stopping to take in Peeta's form. He was miming Coin's arm around Katniss followed by a mime of a motion to said arm which would result in a horrible break.

"Unfortunate as it may be, I'm calling this meeting off."

The stony face of Peeta disappeared before Katniss' eyes as Coin brandished the device in her hand again. Yanking her arm out of the president's grip Katniss mentally prepared herself for a battle.

"Put it back on," she demanded, holding Coin's stare evenly. Coin's mask of fake gentleness faltered.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands here, Miss Everdeen."

It was true. Katniss had nothing she could offer in return for Peeta at the moment. What would a district specialising in nuclear energy and weaponry want from a girl whose talents involved a bow or singing. She had to lie.

"I think I am, President Coin." She was stalling for time, trying to think of anything the woman might think was valuable. Nothing was immediately coming to mind and as she opened her mouth to stall further with a few 'um's Katniss recalled the conversation she shared with Finnick before the quarter Quell.

"I have secrets."

The men in the room laughed loudly, some banging their fists on the table in amusement even and Katniss felt her face start to burn with embarrassment and indignation. It had seemed so intriguing when Finnick had said it.

"No you do not," Coin said matter-of-factly. "And you have nothing to offer which can put you in a position to be making demands. Nothing yet," she trailed off as she reclaimed her seat at the head of the desk.

"Miss Everdeen, the people love you. The common man likes to have a physical symbol to put onto something as intangible as hope and freedom. And they do love their war-heroes. As you may be aware, the mockingjay has become that symbol for the rebels." The others nodded their heads in acknowledge. "And since you were the one wearing the mockingjay pin people are looking up to you as the face of the rebellion."

The face of the rebellion? Katniss didn't want to be the people's face of the rebellion though; didn't they know how hard she had fought to get Snow to believe she was an innocent bystander? All she wanted to do was fly under the radar and keep her family and friends safe from threats. She wasn't even sure if it was true, Katniss would have been just another victor or victim if it wasn't for Peeta. Surely the people wanted both of them.

"If you agree to a few simple shots of you playing the hero, being supportive to our cause and perhaps a speech or two, then I might reconsider Mr. Mellark's rescue." Coin was looking smug at her proposal, like she knew Katniss had no choice but to accept.

Katniss mulled over all the options regarding the offer. There was no way she could rescue Peeta by herself, for one she had no contact with him, and she also had no idea how to reach the surface of this district. She would need a hovercraft to sneak in undetected, kidnap a prisoner, and make it back. She didn't want to admit it, but Katniss needed all the help this woman could offer, especially since she would be too weak still to do it on her own.

"I don't want you to _maybe _reconsider, I want your word that if I do as you ask then Peeta will be rescued," she demanded, crossing her arms in the hope she'd appear more intimidating and resolved. It was a hard look to accomplish in a hospital gown but Coin seemed to take her seriously.

"We need your cooperation first before we waste any valuable resources in an attempt to free a known traitor," Coin retorted sharply. "Who knows whether you'll run off as soon as Mr. Mellark's back and not hold up your side of the bargain?"

The men nodded their heads again in agreement and Katniss wondered if they're of any use at all besides being 'yes-men'. That was probably the sort of person Coin wanted her to be: vapid in the mind, following orders without question.

"I wouldn't do that," she exclaimed bitterly. Katniss may be considered a liar because of the charade she had to pull with Peeta as the 'star-crossed lovers', but her word was as good as gold.

"We can't take that risk."

There was a terse moment between the two women as they half stare, half glare at each other. She knew why Coin might be distrustful but Peeta had begged, not ten minutes ago, to not trust her. Katniss couldn't bring herself to trust that Coin would keep her side of the deal. They were at a stalemate, neither wanting to make the first move which would relinquish the upper-hand.

Still, this was Peeta's life at stake. She had to take every chance, jump at every opportunity she could to get him back to safety.

"All I want, before I agree to help you, is that afterwards you agree to help him."

"I just said that would be the case, Miss Everdeen. I sure hope you are a better listener during the shoots than you are at the moment," Coin replied slyly. The 'yes-men' at her side teetered in amusement at the quip.

"Don't twist your wording around on me, please," Katniss added, not wanting to get on the bad side of the district's leader. "You said you might reconsider his rescue, I want you to fully reconsider it."

Coin looked increasingly frustrated and even went so far as to rub her temples, showing a non-verbal display of annoyance, as though Katniss was a fly she couldn't get rid of.

"You have three days to consider my proposal, Miss Everdeen. You will be staying on floor three with the other female citizens until you decide. Considering you're well enough to be making demands, I believe you're well enough to be out of hospital. After the three days are up you will be put to use around the district some way or another."

The news came as quite a relief to Katniss; the thought of spending any more time in that lifeless hospital room was enough to give her shivers. She was surprised how quickly Coin was willing to send her back with the others though, not that she was ungrateful of course, seeing Prim again would be a blessing in itself.

"We're done here. Go," Coin stated, even flicking her hand twice in the direction of the door signalling Katniss' leave. "Somebody bring Mr. Volvere to me at once, we need to have a discussion regarding his inventions."

One of the men jumped to his feet quickly and practically sprinted out the door on command. It's all Katniss can do from shaking her head in disbelief at the influence this woman has on others.

"You've been dismissed," Coin remarked to Katniss, after a minute of not moving, whose head started to shake in denial. The uniformed man who had been lingering in the corner of the room during the whole ordeal started forward, most likely to escort her forcefully out of the room.

"I can't leave without knowing more." Coin ignored her completely though and the guard motioned to Katniss to come with him.

"I'm sorry about before, Miss. I didn't mean to be so rough. Are you hurt?" At least he was polite; she was the one that had punched him in the face after all.

With a resigned sigh and a shake of her head Katniss walked in his direction to meet him halfway, she wasn't going to be manhandled out of the room, she'd leave with her head held high.

A slow knock came from the door though, interrupting her movement as it opened, and Haymitch's face popped into view. He released an easy smile and knocked the door inwards entering the room with his arms out wide.

"Ah, there you are Sweetheart!" he proclaimed, coming around the guard's side and embracing Katniss in a tight hug that left her extremely uncomfortable, both physically and mentally. It was out of character for her mentor to be so touchy-feely.

"I was going to bring you some nice left-overs to make you feel better, but the nurse had informed me you'd already left." Well _that _was a definite lie.

"Come on," he continued, releasing her from the hug but keeping a hand tightly enclosed around her upper arm. "You're lucky I even left you some at all."

Katniss slapped his hand away from her arm, she was so sick of everybody thinking they had a right to touch her or restrain her.

"Haymitch, I saw Peeta, he was right there," she said, pointing to the blank screen. "He could still be there actually, she turned it off." Katniss tilted her head in Coin's direction. Haymitch turned to acknowledge the now four members behind the desk.

"President Coin," he said with a polite nod. "Lock. Stock. Barrel," he finished, motioning to the other three. From their unamused glaring she assumed those aren't their real names.

"Mr. Abernathy, your young protégée here has been quite a handful," Coin said with a slight smile. "I'd keep a closer eye on her."

Haymitch took hold of Katniss' arm again and steered her towards the door.

"Will do," he said with a laugh as they exited the room. The air suddenly felt lighter now that they're out in the corridor. The room hadn't been too small but the atmosphere had been tense and overwhelming. He released her arm and started to make his way down the corridor, leaving Katniss little choice but to follow at his heels.

"Haymitch," she started but was quickly cut off.

"Not now. Wait until we're alone."

They walked to the top of the staircase Katniss had sprinted up earlier. She noticed the route was clear as the chain that blocked it off originally was now dangling uselessly to the side. Halfway down the stairs was a new pair of people beginning their climb up.

"Beetee!"

The man who rushed out on Coin's order was behind Beetee, whispering to him presumably to hurry along.

"Katniss," he replied with a touch of relief. "I'm so glad to see you're doing well. Why are you still in your hospital clothes? You had us all scared for quite some time when you wouldn't wake up." They come to a stand-still as Beetee and the man reach the top step. "Can't stay to chat but I'm sure we'll get to talk soon. Take care." Beetee seemed just as chaotic in his thought patterns as his partner Wiress at times.

With that the two men took off past them and went out of sight. Seeing Beetee reminded Katniss of something she needed to ask Haymitch.

"Haymitch, what happened to the others from the Quell? I know Finnick and Beetee are here. I know Peeta," her voice broke just a fraction, "is in the Capitol. What about Johanna or Chaff?"

"When I said alone I meant alone in a room, not on top of a staircase or in these corridors where anyone could hear us." Was the only reply she got as they continued their trek. Maybe Haymitch still deserved that slap she never gave, but doing so now would just be petty and childish.

Following him past her hospital room he led her to a smaller room that housed a single bed and a stack of drawers. Ushering her inside he hovered at the door and closed it behind her after she entered.

"Get dressed quickly," he said, his voice muffled by the door, "Or as quickly as you can. I hear you've been hitting the morphine bottle a little hard, Sweetheart. And they call _me_ an addict." He started guffawing loudly at his own joke but Katniss was too enamoured with the room's contents to care.

So much of her precious items were here. She could see her bow lying against a wall with her sheath of arrows, pictures of her father and family were on top of the set of drawers, and her boots were propped up next to it.

Opening the drawers she exhaled in relief to see her old hunting clothes had somehow made the trip to the district as well. She didn't know how they did, but she was glad nonetheless. After slipping into them quickly she emerged from the room and Haymitch's cackles eased off.

Nodding his head silently in approval he again made a start in the opposite direction, leading Katniss through a maze of rooms and corridors. Walls became different shades, faint music or laughter could sometimes be heard but they never bumped into any citizen.

Eventually they stopped in front of another sealed off room, the door to it made of a heavy wrought-iron. Haymitch knocked on it three times in quick succession before allowing himself and Katniss in.

The room was lit with a dim light, one bright enough to see everything going on but dark enough that it took a while for her eyes to adjust. When they did adjust though Katniss could make out several people hovering over a table inside.

"Gale! Finnick!"

The two men were prepared to see Haymitch, but had probably expected Katniss to still be in hospital. As Finnick gives her a large wave and smile Gale stepped forward to give her a short hug.

"I had tried to come see you, but I was never allowed in apart from that once," he said, looking down on her from his tall height. "I'm glad you're out. I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too," she replied quickly, her hands running over her familiar clothing. She didn't want to hear her best-friend become emotional because of her. Looking past him she notices the other people in the room at the same time Haymitch begins introducing them.

"Katniss, this is Homes and Mitchell," he said, pointing to the two men dressed in clothes similar to the ones worn by Peacekeepers. "And these lovely ladies are Jackson, Leeg the First and Leeg the Second," he finished pointing to women in similar uniforms.

"We prefer Leeg 1 and Leeg 2 actually, Abernathy, and don't call me a lovely lady again," said the woman Haymitch pointed to while introducing the second Leeg. They must have been sisters - twins maybe.

"Okay," Katniss started, unsure how to proceed. What were Gale, Finnick and Haymitch doing with these people, cloaked in half darkness?

"There's also Beetee who you obviously know," Haymitch continued, "and Boggs who you actually met on the staircase. He was the one leading Beetee up for whatever reason."

"President Coin had wanted to see him, she mentioned something about needing to talk to him about his devices," Katniss said, answering Haymitch's unasked question.

"Do you think it's about the clocks?" One of the Leeg sisters asked the room. So there _was _truth in what Peeta had said, Coin had put cameras in the clocks.

"Peeta was there, on a screen, when I saw her. He mentioned that Snow knew something about cameras being hidden in the clocks? He also said Snow was using it to spy on her the way she was spying on the citizens," Katniss said as silence shrouds the room. It's broken by a clap of Finnick's hands.

"Already here for only two seconds and she's given us some good stuff! Good work, Katty." Oh how she hoped that horrible nickname didn't stick. Directing the attention away from herself she addressed the room.

"Why do you need 'good stuff', what's the point of this secret meeting?"

Finnick stopped looking amused almost instantly and he averted his eyes. When no-one spoke up, he turned back to Katniss.

"Snow has Annie, she was my... tribute, but she's so much more to me than that," His voice was quiet, "Coin refuses to send in a team to get her claiming she can't afford to waste the resources of the district on one _mad _woman." Finnick looked both angry and desperately sad at once.

"She said almost the exact same thing about Peeta, except she said it's because they weren't going to rescue a traitor," Katniss spat, Finnick's sadness and the memory of Coin's refusal making her angry. Finnick gave her a small smile which held no laughter.

"Yes, she's said so already when Haymitch put forward the idea about his rescue."

Haymitch leaned back against the heavy door, running his hand through his tousled blond hair as he started to speak.

"That's why we're gathered here, kid. We're the ones that are going to bust out Peeta, Annie, Johanna and any others Snow thinks he can lock up against their will and we can do it without the help or approval of the woman who elected herself as Queen."

_Now _they were talking.

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**Bye-bye Peeta, I'm sure we'll see you again in a couple of chapters. Personally I never bought the idea that Snow would let Peeta talk on live television (in front of an audience) to D13 without them talking back. All it could bring was a release of information on one side and Peeta wasn't loyal enough to be trusted at that point.**

**Thank you guys for reviewing, favourite-ing, following or just reading. Each one is truly appreciated; I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am. Sometimes I feel I have too much exposition - but this is just my writing style, I hope it doesn't annoy anyone. There's nothing worse than thinking a plot for a story is great but having the execution fall flat. **

**Feel free to leave constructive criticism if something's off.. I'll cry but I can handle it.**

**Edit: Chapters 1-3 edited thanks to a very helpful reviewer who alerted me to a problem. Thanks! :D**


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